The Right Path
by Winter Echoes
Summary: A cute one-shot about a forgotten moment of Alanna's childhood. Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own any of the characters/locations; that honour belongs to Tamora Pierce.


She was on a quest for a magical artifact that would save the realm. She was the most powerful knight in all of Tortall, and her enemies quaked in fear before her. Or, that was what she imagined. The young girl, astride Chubby, her faithful steed, flew across the open ground, a smile plastered upon her face. In the depths of her heart she knew that her dream would never become a reality: she was just a small girl, and girls were not destined for greatness, especially not girls of nobility. But she was merely a child, still young and innocent, and her fantasies were not yet tarnished by the bitter stains of reality.

The girl-child slowed Chubby to a walk and then to a stop, dismounting to sit in the shade of a nearby tree. Normally she found peace and quiet tedious, that was more of her brother's element, but at the moment she found the serenity quite appealing. Her violet eyes shut, a smile spreading across her face, and she let out a happy sigh. She should be returning home soon, she told herself, but she dismissed the thought. Her father wouldn't even notice, she presumed, and she would much rather be out in the open air than cooped up listening to Maude beg and fool her into using the Gift.

Maybe Coram would be teaching her lessons today, she pondered, smiling at the thought. His lessons were much more interesting, although Thom would surely disagree. Her interest piqued, she reluctantly opened her eyes, planning on heading back towards home. As she her eyes opened, she saw a dark, shimmering distortion in the air in front of her. It seemed obviously magical, and she briefly wondered if this was somehow Maude's doing, perhaps a spell sent to bring her home. But no, Maude's magic was green, and Maude did healing magic, not whatever was in the air in front of her. The black distortion grew, and the girl covered her eyes with a hand. When she looked again, two figures stood before her.

The figure on the right was a tall man with dark hair, and beside him stood a young brunette woman with blue-grey eyes. "Hi," the child whispered. She was startled, yet curious. Most children her age would be frightened by the mysterious new arrivals, but she wasn't in the slightest. Maybe she was brave or maybe she was foolish, but the woman and the man didn't seem threatening to her.

"Hello, Alanna," the young woman said, smiling at the redheaded child. Despite the kindness in her words and demeanour, her blue-grey eyes seemed to be glossed with sadness of some sort, as well as hope and humour. How all those emotions could coexist in one expression Alanna did not know, but they were there none-the-less.

"How do you know my name?" the young girl questioned. The fact didn't frighten her, same as the mysterious appearance of the man and the woman didn't shock her, but she was still very puzzled.

"Well, we–" the woman began, only to be silenced by a sharp look from the man. "Be careful!" he muttered, proceeding to mumble something about the 'space-time continuum' that Alanna didn't catch.

"Odd's bobs!" the young woman grumbled under her breath, shooting the man an exasperated look that he proceeded to ignore. "We have an important message for you, Alanna of Trebond," the man stated, looking down his long nose at the sitting child. His brown eyes held the same strange mixture of emotions as the woman's, and it intrigued the young girl.

"What is that?" the girl asked boldly, meeting and holding the man's brown eyes with her violet gaze. Normal she found that her eyes bothered strangers, and people she knew well for that matter, but the man's reaction to her stare was a small smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. His eyes turned to meet his companion's, and she too donned a tiny smile.

"Just remember this," the woman interjected, her gaze returning to the small, redheaded girl that sat beneath the tree. "Going down the left path is not a good idea." With that statement, the two figures began to fade into the same sparkling black light from which they had appeared.

"By the name of the Goddess!" exploded the young girl, staring at the disappearing strangers in disbelief. "You appear in a puff of smoke to tell me not to go LEFT?" The fading strangers turned to look at each other, smiling. No matter how old she was, this was the Alanna they knew.

After the figures had vanished once again, Alanna mounted Chubby and rode off towards home. By the time she arrived, the memory of the strange visitors had already begun to fade. As time went by, she forgot the event altogether.

In all the time she was growing up, becoming the king's Champion, and having adventures, the strange warning never resurfaced in her thoughts. It was merely another obscure childhood memory, sealed away in some distant corner of her mind and forgotten.

* * *

"I'll scout ahead!" the Lioness called, mounting her horse and galloping away from camp. Out of sight of where her friends rested, the path split in two. Alanna guided her horse towards the left path, then halted suddenly. A memory flooded through her: a long forgotten moment of her childhood, a warning from two strangers with blue-grey and brown eyes. She turned her head to glance back at the direction of the camp, a camp where two of her dearest friends rested, and a slightly suspicious smile tugged on her lips. After a moment's hesitation, the redheaded champion turned her horse and galloped down the path to her right.

When she had finished scouting, the lady knight returned to camp. That was not the day Sir Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau died. There was no tasteful ceremony, no speeches from the king and queen. No wave of sadness that crashed through Tortall following the death of their Lioness. And a pair of blue-grey eyes did not look up from their mourning to see a certain mage's brown eyes lit up with an idea, an idea that might set everything to rights.

But none of that happened. Not this time.


End file.
